MLB rears its hypocritical PC head during World Series

A lot was made this week of Houston Texans owner Bob McNair comparing kneeling NFL players and team ownership after blurting out the common and often used expression, “Inmates running the prison.” (McNair later distanced himself by explaining that he meant players and the NFL Commissioner’s Office)

Many called it racist, reinforcing a stereotype and unfair to lump millionaire NFL players in with domestic abusers, violent felons, drug users, and even murderers walking the penitentiary yard — all criminal character flaws which we know that saintly and law-abiding NFL players have over the years proven to be just plain untrue. 

And Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson, Ray Lewis, Josh Gordon, Adam Jones, Joe Mixon, Dalvin Cook… have a bridge to sell ya.

Anyway, now along comes the World Series and Major League Baseball’s chance to throw shade over the NFL fallout from the kneeling controversy … and they are blowing it. 

Don’t let the exciting fall classic between the Dodgers and Astros fool you. While commissioner Rob Manfred is publicly banging his drum about that tired, age-old PC diversion — doing away with the Indians’ Chief Wahoo mascot — as a smoke signal smokescreen, MLB is sweeping some their own dirty issues under the Astroturf (they still have that at Minute Maid Park right?)

On Saturday, Manfred announced a five-game suspension without pay for Astros slugger Yuli Gurriel after cameras caught the first baseman making a “slant-eyed” gesture and saying the Spanish word “chinito,” a slang term for “little Chinese guy,” in reference to the Japanese-born Dodgers pitcher Yu Darvish after hitting a home run.

Yuli Gurriel under fire after gesture made in dugout after homering off Yu Darvish: https://t.co/CoY4gEYRDG pic.twitter.com/TmF1HJNUTo

— Deadspin (@Deadspin) October 28, 2017

Manfred’s punishment was quick and decisive.

Too bad it will be served next year at the start of the 2018 season.

Manfred said it was important not to penalize the Astros’ other players for Gurriel’s inappropriate gesture and there was always that roadblock known as appeal but, just like his justification, the punishment was weak and self-serving.

“I felt it was unfair to punish the other 24 players on the Astros roster,” he said. “I wanted the burden of this discipline to fall primarily on the wrongdoer.”

So, instead of sending a real message to players right now, the whole incident will probably be a forgotten Astro burger by next season.

Gurriel went on to apologize to Darvish, the Astros, the Dodgers, MLB and fans and— more sincerely and likely — secretly thanking the commish. 

Darvish took the higher road and said on social media: 

“No one is perfect. That includes both you and I. What he had done today isn’t right, but I believe we should put our effort into learning rather than to accuse him. If we can take something from this, that is a giant step for mankind. Since we are living in such a wonderful world, let’s stay positive and move forward instead of focusing on anger. I’m counting on everyone’s big love.”

Which brings me back to the kneeling.

Bruce Maxwell was the only player in MLB this year to take a knee during the national anthem to protest racial injustice — which is within his rights. But it seems the Oakland As catcher took it to another level when he used his political stance to claim an Alabama waiter last week denied him service at a restaurant for taking that knee during the anthem. 

Maxwell said the waiter recognized him for being the only MLB player who knelt and then claims that the waiter then said he voted for Donald Trump, supported the President's views and would not serve the athlete before asking the manager to have another server handle the group.

A story the waiter, Matt Henry, says was completely untrue.

“He is outright lying. This is really upsetting as he was given full service, I didn’t even know who Bruce Maxwell was," Henry said.

And now fresh off that public display, Maxwell has been arrested after a female food delivery person alleged he pointed a gun at her.

Scottsdale police said officers went to Maxwell’s home Saturday night after getting a call about a person with a gun. Maxwell was booked on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and disorderly conduct. Now he'll be taking a plea.

I don’t know if the inmates run a prison in the NFL but they just might run the burgeoning asylum in MLB.

Let's see how warden, I mean, commissioner Manfred handles this.

Vince Wilfork wearing overalls in 'Hard Knocks' is a sight to be unseen (VIDEO)

Vince Wilfork offered no reason why he strolled into the Houston Texans locker room wearing overalls, cowboys boots and little else. But the 325-pound defensive lineman was a sight to behold.

And the hilarious scene of the 12-year NFL veteran lurking about in his gigantic OshKosh By'gosh-style duds in this week's episode of HBO's Hard Knocks was pure gold.

.@wilfork75 wears overalls, boots, and... nothing else to Texans practice. Vince Wilfork. That's why. #HardKnocks http://t.co/nC81UHoqR8

— NFL (@NFL) September 2, 2015

Redskins and Texans players brawl at end of joint practice (VIDEO)

The joint portion of the final practice involving the Washington Redskins and Houston Texans came to an wild end Saturday when the intra-team scrimmage turned into a full-out brawl.

The teams had just started working against each other at the Richmond, Virginia facility when the first skirmish occurred. When more pushing and shoving continued on subsequent plays, and on both fields, the coaches decided to break the teams apart and each team worked on its own field for the rest of the session.

Texans and Redskins joint practice turned into a brawl today. https://t.co/cg2NDjGGcy

— NFL Intel (@IntelNFL) August 8, 2015

The change in plans caused Redskins coach Jay Gruden to agree the day was somewhat wasted.

''Initially we had a couple on our field on the offensive field, and I was just going to cut that period out and have everybody go to the side, let everybody cool down and finish practice,'' Gruden said, ''but then the other one broke out on the other field and it wasn't worth it. Injuries take place.

''Obviously, it wasn't a good situation, but we missed an opportunity to get better today against a good team.''

Gruden and Texans coach Bill O'Brien initially tried to let their teams know the fighting wasn't acceptable, but Gruden added: ''Unfortunately, it wasn't two people. It was a group of men'' and ''For whatever reason, it escalated into a nasty brawl.''

O'Brien said the Texans benefited from ''two and a half'' of their three days practicing against the Redskins. And both coaches agreed that joint workouts hold great value in helping to prepare a team for the start of the season.

''Other than having to separate today, we still got work done,'' O'Brien said. ''But the two days that we were together there, we got a lot of situational work. It was good to work against them. Being in the hotel as a team, there's some bonding that goes on there, too.''

J.J. Watt jacks a few home runs during BP at Minute Maid Park (VIDEO)

Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt spent his Thursday afternoon visiting Minute Maid Park and MLB.com Astros reporter Chandler Rome posted video of Watt launching a few into the seats during batting practice.

Watt not only hit the balls, the sack machine sent some into the stratosphere.

JJ Watt after he hit a home run: "I like hitting people better." #Astrosl https://t.co/PqoNkQHlkS

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) July 30, 2015

Mike Trout was there with the Angels, so JJ asked him to throw a pitch just "for a picture."

When Watt met Trout pic.twitter.com/hfhFWZRZR1

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) July 30, 2015

While Trout is arguably the Face of Baseball, it wouldn't be stretch to call Watt the Face of Football. 

And the funny thing is they look like brothers.

J.J. Watt breaks personal record with 61-inch box jump (VIDEO)

Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt is already sort of a freak of nature. The 6-foot-5, 289-pounder not only sacks quarterbacks and catches touchdown passes, he has also been known to jump really high too.

In a new YouTube video published Monday by Reebok, Watt broke his own record at something called the box jump, springing himself 61 inches onto a pile of mats.

Incredibly, that's almost like landing on a standing Wes Welker's head — even with the cushioned helmet!

"Must have been the shoes, baby," he says, plugging the Reeboks.

Yeah... it's the shoes.

Brian Cushing played part of 2014 with broken wrist: Report

Brian Cushing has had a recent run of bad luck when it comes to his health. One that no NFL player would even wish upon his biggest rival.

The Houston Texans linebacker tore his ACL in 2012 and broke his leg and tore his LCL in 2013 and now, despite the fact that he played 14 games in 2014, claims he was hiding an injury that required surgery this offseason: A broken wrist.

Here's what the former N.J. high school standout  said at a charity event in Houston on Wednesday (via ESPN.com):

"I was playing with it broken for a while. ... It was kind of one of those things, after a game I woke up and it was sore. I've bumped my wrist before ... didn't think it was a big deal, got a little better, got a little worse. This kept getting worse and worse. I figured something was up with it."

Cushing said he had surgery on his right wrist and will need about three months of recovery time.

"I was playing with it broken for a while," he said. "It was kind of one of those things, after a game I woke up and it was sore. I've bumped my wrist before ... didn't think it was a big deal, got a little better, got a little worse. This kept getting worse and worse. I figured something was up with it."

Cushing still finished 2014 with 72 combined tackles and one sack.

J.J. Watt gives youth football team a speech they didn't expect and won't soon forget (VIDEO)

We all know J.J. Watt does a lot of good things on the football field — sacking quarterbacks, collecting fumbles and scoring pick-sixes — but the Texans defensive end also does nice deeds off of it as well.

The one-man wrecking crew was on his way home from practice late last month, when he saw a youth football team at their own practice and decided to stop by and give the young players a speech they'll probably be repeating to each other for a long time.

They are still kids so ... at least they'll be bragging about the time they met J.J. Watt.

Watt starts his speech by explaining why he showed up.

"I was on my way home and saw some football going on. I always like to stop out and see the game being played, especially at a young age. It's in its purest form," Watt says. "You guys come out here and you play for the love of the game."

The MVP candidate stresses the importance of teamwork and wraps it all up by telling the youngsters that whatever they end up pursuing in life: "Work hard at it."

Something he proves on the field every week of the NFL season.

[CBSSports]

Victor Cruz does first TD salsa dance in 12 games (VIDEO)

Victor Cruz caught a touchdown pass at home for the first time since 2012 against the Texans Sunday.

The Giants wideout also had his streak of 12 straight games without a TD salsa dance broken after this 26-yard catch-and-run from Eli Manning.

Check out the nifty little move he added after the catch:

Victor Cruz first TD in 12 games #FantasyFootball https://t.co/ko0kcUy6Y9
— AnJuan Boldin (@JuanElway) September 21, 2014

Coughlin relents to playing music during Giants warm-ups: Report

There was something different in the air during the New York Giants stretching routine at their training facility outside MetLife Stadium before practice Friday, reported the N.Y. Post.

And no, it wasn't the stench of 0-2 team's desperation to salvage a season before it reeks worse than a Meadowlands landfill.

It was the sound of music.

While some players bopped to the tunes, other even sang out the lyrics as the softening of Tom Coughlin continues to evolve with this little tweak in the team's workout.

But don't expect DJs and disco balls anytime soon. It was only the grizzled old coach trying to light a fire under the underachieving Giants before the team heads into this week's must-win game against the 2-0 Texans.

Coughlin agreed to the background music being played during warm-ups after it was suggested by the players’ leadership council.

“The players wanted that,” Coughlin said. “We’ve done that before. We did it years ago. It’s just a little bit of noise in the air, like a stadium pre-game, is the way they put it.”

Coughlin's taste in music leans more towards Sinatra, but he seems willing to try anything to get the first win of the season. He found out last year how fast 0-3 turns into 0-6.

“I don’t want to talk about last year,” the coach said Friday. “I do not want to talk about last year.”

Now that Coughlin has brought on da noise. Can the Giants bring on da funk?

High school football player gets prom date with Texans cheerleader (PHOTO)

In today's Internet world, high school kids all over the country have found creative ways to ask celebrities to their prom, and most of those proposals end in disappointment. But for one lucky Texas football player, his persistence paid off.

Crosby (Texas) High School offensive lineman Michael Ramirez got in touch with a Houston Texans cheerleader named Caitlyn and — after he came up with a simple plan to see if he could get her to attend prom with him — the big O-liner will realize his dream.

Ramirez followed the Texans cheerleader HTC_Caitlyn on Twitter and he started the proposal. Needless to say he was direct, and he put up a little wager she couldn’t resist.

Shout Out 2 @getnickwright & @LopezOnSports for having @HTC_Caitlyn on @SportsRadio610 talking #10000RTPromChallenge pic.twitter.com/nn88i4zP1h
— Texans Cheerleaders (@TexansCheer) February 28, 2014

He got the 10,000 retweets and will now be taking the hottest girl to the prom.

Can't wait for prom 😊
— HTC_Caitlyn (@HTC_Caitlyn) February 28, 2014

Although it looks like Ramirez had a couple of backup dates.

Peyton Manning was worried about getting record-setting ball back from Julius Thomas (VIDEO)

Peyton Manning reclaimed the record for throwing the most touchdown passes in an NFL season on Sunday. The Bronco quarterback's fourth touchdown toss— in an AFC West-clinching win against the Texans— a 25-yard completion to tight end Julius Thomas with 4:28 left in the game, gave Manning 51 touchdowns for the season.

At the post-game presser, the humble Manning said his record-setting touchdown pass was a “team record” and expects it to be broken, but he will savor it for now.

“I’m sure it’s just a temporary record, but I will enjoy it,” he said.

Manning did admit he was worried about getting the historic ball back from his tight end after the catch.

"It wouldn't surprise me if Julius  went and handed it to some babe up in the stands and tried to get her phone number in exchange for the ball, " joked Manning. "That would be right up Julius' alley ... pretty in line with his thinking all the time."

Manning received a standing ovation at Reliant Stadium after breaking the record and got plenty of love from his teammates and coaches on the sideline.

Later, Broncos coach John Fox presented Manning with the game ball in the locker room and Manning was ready to walk away before his teammates implored him to make a speech.

“Like coach Fox said, the best news I heard all day, we won our division today,” Manning told his teammates in his typical style. “That’s a heck of an accomplishment. Let’s keep it going next week. I just can’t thank you guys enough. A lot of people contributed to this (record.) I really think this is a team accomplishment – defense getting us the ball back, receivers catching a lot of passes.”

No way Thomas was handing that ball to some chick in the stands.

Jets rout Yankees on overnight TV ratings

The New York Jets dropped another disappointing game at MetLife Stadium last night.  But, if it's any consolation to the struggling Jets, they ended up beating the powerful New York Yankees in both the national and local television ratings.

The Jets, who lost 23-17 to the Houston Texans on ESPN's "Monday Night Football," continued the trend of turning Tebowmania into must see TV by outdrawing the Yankees' ALDS Game 2 loss to the Baltimore Orioles.

Sports Business Journal reported Tuesday morning that the Jets, broadcast on ESPN, drew a 10.0 national rating.  The Yankees, in a game broadcast on TBS, received a paltry 3.6 share.  Not surprising since the NFL generally draws a national audience no matter who's playing.

The real shock was the local New York ratings where Gang Green's lead diminished but still topped the Bronx Bombers in popularity.  The Jets scored a 13.8 rating while the Yankees drew a more respectable 11.0.  Still, disappointing for the Yankees since it was a playoff game.

 




Cynics could point out that over 12,000 seats at the Jets home game went unsold — a statistic the Jets deny — and many of their fans preferred watching the game from the comforts of their living rooms.  Combine that with the fact that there is no accounting of the channel flipping that must have been rampant during the overlapping games and you could make a valid reason for the Jets popularity.

Sunday night's ALDS Game 1 was an even bigger washout for the Yankees.  The broadcast — which was delayed nearly two hours due to rain — got trampled by NBC's game between the New Orleans Saints 31- 24 win over the San Diego Chargers.

The Yankees win over the Orioles drew a meager 3.3 rating while the NFL game, where Drew Brees set an NFL-record by tossing a touchdown pass in his 48th consecutive game, tallied an 11.7 score.

Tebow used 666th Monday Night Football game as battle between good and evil

Yesterday, on the morning of the Jets-Texans game, Tim Tebow took the opportunity to turn a broadcast of Monday Night Football game into a holy rolling tweet.

Leave it up to the New York Jets Bible-thumping quarterback to go on Twitter and tweet Jets fans:

"Looking forward to giving God all the glory in tonight's 666th Monday Night Football game.  Romans 8:37-39."

It really was broadcast No. 666.  What were the chances?

Tebow may have used the Bible to help rally his team by publicizing the evil number 666 — historically known as the sign of Satan — but his preaching did nothing to help the Jets find salvation.

Playing in a game numbered with the mark of the beast proved to be an bad omen for the team.  The faithless fans watched the Jets lose.  NFL verse: Texans 23-17.

Tebow did get to carry the ball five times for 19 yards and a long throw to Jason Hill was dropped.  No water to wine, but enough to get fans calling for Tebow to start.

The Bible verse Tebow referenced in his tweet says: "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, not anything else in creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God."

I'm guessing that by "depth," it doesn't mean the number of Jets receivers on the roster.

If Tebow wants to focus on a number he should start with the single No. 6.  The jersey number of Mark Sanchez — the quarterback separating the Jets from good and evil.